Sundee Sunshine

1. Alive: I jumped back into the audition world, and though 1/3 of it was not pretty (and honestly kind of horrifying), I am proud of myself regardless of the outcome. And, like I said before, I. Am. Funny. That's what I will force myself to remember whenever I look back on this experience.

Can I say one more thing? I have a great life. It's no secret that the move back here to Utah was not easy for me. I was THRILLED to be close to family and friends and the mountains. I was LIVING what I'd wanted for SO long. I had a husband, a house, a calling in a great ward- it's what I had hoped for for years. BUT- it was hard. For the first time in my young adult life I COULD NOT perform. I LITERALLY could not be on the stage. The opportunity simply was not there.

I am somewhat of a freak. When I put my mind to something, I DO it. I obsess and I DO it. My twenties have been filled with "I will do _____" - and a few months later it's done. So last year I finally crossed "get married" off the list. With that, we left Orlando. I was happy with that. Totally fine with it. I was excited to live the life of a "normal" person.

Enter Amy the Normal Person: WHAT DO I DO WITH MYSELF??? I'd spent the last fifteen or so years playing other people more often than I was AMY. How's that for pathetic? So yes, lots of tears and confusion and feeling like a loser went on and on. Of course I was happy with my PERSONAL life, but I felt like a gigantic part of who I am had been ripped from me and I did not know how to handle it and just be me. WHAT DO I DO WITHOUT STAGE MAKEUP, TIGHTS, and FAKE LASHES?!??!

So- fast forward to now. I'm quite content with life. I like our little house in the "middle of nowhere," I like sitting on the couch at night with Chuck saying to each other "What should we do tonight?" "I dunno. Whaddya wanna do?" Life is blissful. And then I go to an audition...

And I realize something: If I don't get in (which I will not...) - It's OK. And whatever those people thought of me at that audition DOES NOT matter. It doesn't change the fact that tomorrow I will still wake up with a cute boy by me, that I will go to my not exactly fulfilling jobs and continue towards the worthwhile goal of getting our cars paid off, and that I am happy and content. Of course the crazy, career driven and motivated Amy burns with "I could do that" envy when I see the success stories of my MDT friends posted all over Facebook and blogs, but that's OK. I no longer have hysterical breakdowns when I see that someone got cast in "my show" or "my role." Being AMY is ok. And truthfully, it's better than being all those characters in the musicals who sing the great songs.

So that is my conclusion. Thanks for listening to that little rant. :-) Continuing on...

2. Plain No More: Thoughts of decorating my house have made me happy this week. Chuck and I stopped into the Z-Gallerie last week and oh, did my heart sing. I am starting folders on my computer with ideas for each room. Did you notice that my debt ticker is now at 23%??? Getting closer... ha ha. Still a ways to go, but getting ideas for what I will do with our house with all that extra cash is motivating I tell you!

This is my current obsession.

3. Mockery: Like it or not, Chuck and I tend to somewhat mock Utah delights such as "Soft Sunday (or should we say Sundee) Sounds" and "Sounds of the Sabbath." For months we have enjoyed, with friends, coming up with cheesy sayings that belong on the walls of Mormon homes in vinyl lettering. (No offense intended to anyone- I, myself, have found a few of these that I actually would use...) ANYWAY- the newest game is making up Sounds of the Sabbath songs. It's entertaining. And Chuck is funny. And I love it.

Really? Is it necessary to have a song that say things like, "Wrap your sins in a cocoon and emerge a butterfly..." ? (I apologize if you are the writer of that song...) Can't we just stick to the classics - "I Know That My Redeemer Lives, " "Because I Have Been Given Much," "Lead Kindly Light," Etc. etc. etc. I love those.

4. Campy: Friday night was fantastic with a campfire, awesome friends, tin foil dinners, and smores. What a wonderfully fun night. Oh, how I will miss this early Fall weather.





5. Orlando (Not Bloom) : One month from today. Can't wait.

6. When the Moon Hits Your Eye: We ate at THE PIE this weekend. We decided to forgo the State Fair and ended up just eating The Pie's fabulous pizza instead. Aaaaand tomorrow I begin working out again... cough...

7. SLC: Conference is in two weeks. Good stuff.

8. Baby: This guy is growing up...






Have a happy week!

But I. Am. Funny!!!

Awwwww I can dance decently when I have time to learn and tweak and stare in the mirror and practice and stuff.

But today the old clunker came out of the junk yard for a spin. She had about an hour to learn two combos and perfect them. It was not pretty.

BUT.

I read some lines. And the whole staff was cracking up.

I. Am. Funny.

And that's enough for me.

Sun

1. Tres: See previous post. * THREE YEARS OF CHUCK AND AMY *

2. Sing, Sing a Song: This week I am jumping back into the audition world - For the first time since January of 2008. YI-HI-KES. So I'll go in and sing my song, attempt to dance, and chalk it up to experience. Reume - Check. Headshot - Check. Confidence - Not so much. But here we go! ( I hesitated even writing about this... I don't like to share my assumed failures with the world. But I got thinking about it, and ya know, failure is a part of life. We learn from it. And it's good. So I CAN share without allowing my ego to be bruised in the process, right? Of course right! Thank you, Yente. )

3. Little Teeny Boppers: Had a great turn out for my musical theatre class auditions at the Scera this week. I am really excited about the class and think that this year's attempted musical will be "Guys and Dolls." Sure, Adelaide will be 14 years old... the amount of time she's been engaged to Nathan Detroit... but whatever! :-) The music and script are just too fun to pass up.

4. Brrrr: It's only 65 degrees in our house today. So I pulled out my little friend the Space Heater. We are bonding as it blows on my toes.

5. Green: Paid another $700 on the truck this week. As I write these checks I can't help but think about what I could DO with all that money. Long term goals... looking ahead... I can do this...

6. Chatty: Last night, at the adult session that I posted about earlier, the speaker mentioned over and over again how women BOND by talking. Men bond by ACTION. Oh, how grateful I am for chatty girlfriends that I can bond with. Several of my dearest friends are no longer close to me geographically- and it makes me sad. But I'm thankful that we get on the phone and chat for hours and it's almost as if they were right here. AND I am grateful for those ladies who ARE close by... so that every week we can catch up and BOND!

The End. For now.

The Seven Basic Needs of Relationships

Tonight Chuck and I attended the adult session of Stake Conference. We'd just eaten a lovely, and huge, dinner, and I'd fallen asleep in the car on the way home. Full and tired- not a fantastic way for me to begin a two hour meeting, right?

Most of the time the adult session of Stake Conference involves speakers like the Stake Pres. and his wife, a General Authority, and a few members of the Stake... or something like that. I was surprised, and excited, to find out that our adult session would be an interactive meeting with Matt Townsend, a relationship and communication expert who's quite well known here in Utah. (You can hear his relationship show on KSL Radio on Saturday mornings and he's on Studio 5 quite often.) I've always enjoyed listening to him. Yes, now you know- I am a talk radio nerd.

Months ago I'd seen Matt Townsend on Studio 5, (I posted a clip from it on here...) For about a week Chuck and I took one of his ideas - a "T Chart" called "I Felt Loved When..." I saved it. And it's in this year's "book." That was a great week.

Oh, how I wish so many of you could have been there. His words were entertaining, thought provoking, insightful, and provided great reminders for each one of us.

Chuck and I are still brand new at this whole marriage thing. It's a great and wonderful process that I love and enjoy. Lets face it though, it can also be frustrating and downright hard sometimes. We've had great ups and downs in the last year and a half. And tonight's session totally validated our awesomeness. :-)

He talked about the things that get in the way of marriage relationships: Pride, egos, selfishness, kids, pornography, money, etc. etc. etc... All of those fights- over those kinds of things, are "smoke," and the real, CORE issues, have to do with these:

The Seven Basic Needs of Relationships

1. Safety

2. Trust

3. Appreciation

4. Respect

5. Validation

6. Encouragement

7. Dedication

If one partner is feeling threatened in one of these areas, it's natural for them to want to attack the other's needs in one of these areas as well. And so the cycle goes...

It was all fascinating. And fun. And I loved it. It was motivating and exciting.

And now, when we get in little tiffs, I'm going to pull out my handy dandy little "notepad" (an expired coupon on which I wrote the Seven Basic Needs...) and ask, "OK honey, which one of these seven needs are you not getting from me right now?"

:-)

But tonight the 2nd counselor in our Stake called us "perfect." So I guess we are... :-)

Three

Tomorrow marks THREE YEARS of Chuck and Amy.

On September 12, 2007, Chuck Keeler kissed me on a playground in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and the rest is history.

The annual book opening event...

Book #3

I'm quite happy with it -

With everything but the crazy Mod-Podge job.

Things got a little crazy with that this year, but oh well.

PS: Do you call it Modge Podge or Mod- Podge??

Three Years Later...

Celebrating at Gloria's Little Italy in Provo

Three Years of "The Story..."

HIGHLIGHTS

The Fun...

The Sad...

The Pet

We finished off the evening at the adult session of our Stake Conference. Matt Townsend , a relationship guy, was our speaker. A GREAT two hours... More on that later.

Labor Day Sunshine

1. G'ment: This is ironic considering how much I disagree with the Feds right now... but I won't complain about the State of Utah! So- we owed and paid taxes in January. (Early even!) Yesterday we got a check in the mail from the Utah State Treasurer- giving us 80% of what we paid BACK. No explanation. Just says it's a "tax refund." Do I call and question? Or do I chalk this one up to one of those "tithing blessings?" I like the latter...

2. Pretty Boy: See above story for the #2 Sunshine slot of the week.

3. 3 Years: Next Sunday marks THREE YEARS that The Boy and I have been together. For those of you who remember my yearly PROJECT, it's nearly complete. A week early!!


4. R & R: I haven't put on makeup for two days. Poor Chuck. Yep- I've been sick, but it's given me the chance to catch up on some well needed rest.

5. Wedding Cheesecake: My cousin Justin got married this past weekend. What a great sealing and reception they had. And boy, was I thrilled and impressed with the CHEESECAKE bar at their wedding. Oh. My. Heaven. Cheesecake, toppings, classy. Yeah. It was great. And that concludes the string of family weddings for the summer...

6. Crisp: Fall is in the air today. I love living in Utah where there are four distinct seasons. Time to drive the Alpine Loop soon...

7. Countdown: Orlando is coming soon... I'm excited. This girl needs a vacay.

8. Truck: The Toyota will officially be ours in less than two months. One almost down, one to go!!!!

9. Pad: Still diggin' The Bachelor Pad. Sue me.

10. I'd be amiss if I didn't mention this fantastic experience I had last week. The Hale Center Theater in Orem asked me, and these lovely folks, to put on a lil' show at the Tahitian Noni's summer party. What fun I had. And oh, how I miss singing for a living...

11. Kiddos: Life at the Scera starts again this week. Back to playing musical theatre with the junior high peeps!

So there they are. The little happies of my life. Nothing as glamorous as it all once was, but pretty decent nonetheless.

Too Good to Wait...

Hi. From work.

Do I normally blog from work? No. But it's dead here and some things are too good to not post immediately.

This is better than the time I worked for Costco and the lady asked when I was due...

The Setting: Unnamed Bridal/Prom store

The Time: Noon. 9/1/2010

In walks a middle aged, buzzed headed male. (The particular gender we don't really see much of here in this store - and if we DO - they tell me how we need a TV and couch for the men to watch sports on while the ladies giggle and oooo and awww- Let's face it folks, I'm in UTAH)

"Can I help you?"

"Just browsing."

"Are you looking for a particular occasion?"

(At this point my lil Mormon girl glasses are still on... He must be shopping for his daughter...)

"Nothing particular, just for fun."

He browses... sticks to the side of the store with the modest Prom dresses... Sizes 14-18...

"Are you doing ok?" I ask.

"Yeah. I want one with sleeves. Can I try some on?"

Hopefully my big doe eyes didn't give away my shock... this is NOT for his daughter...

"Sure." I pulled four dresses into the room for him. Two shades of blue, hot pink, and a yellow. All ballgowns. Mormon girl Prom ballgowns. Gulp.

He tries them on. I don't see much of him- maybe he's afraid of coming out to use the mirrors? Ooooop, no. There he is... sauntering the store in the navy blue frock. * Sparkles *

Then came his questions and need for fashion advice:

"What about a neckline? Which is most flattering on me? What about color? I love the yellow. I want yellow because I love Princess Belle."

AH! I can TOTALLY relate! But honey, that yellow sure ain't gonna work with your skin tone...

- Oh, and his second daughter is named Annabelle... they call her Belle.

Nice guy. We chit chat. He lives in Provo. He doesn't however, shop there in Provo for fear of running in to someone he knows. This is an "in the closet" hobby of his. Ok.

We finally decide on a sweetheart necked, navy blue ballgown, but shoot! We don't have an 18, and it's too small to let out the size 16 that we DO have.

Back into his normal man clothes. A green, "BYU Men's Chorus" polo. Hmmm.

We chit chat some more about needing to order and alter the dress he wants. (I pass that buck off to my manager...) And then the kicker:

"Are you a member of the predominant religion in the area?"

Yes. I am LDS, sir.

"Well, as you can see, most of these dresses are made to cover certain underclothing that women of that religion wear."

Where is he going with this???

"I would like to be able to find something that cover the male version of that underclothing."

Are y'all following me here? He then tells me that he would be uncomfortable buying and wearing a women's top for the dress. Uhhhh...

Doe eyes. Blinking. I'm an actress... this is TOTALLY normal...

"Yeah- that could be a problem." Blink. And twitch.

Nice guy. Odd experience. His wife's name is Amy.

Wife.

Thank you, Orlando, and the boys who love the P HOUSE, for allowing me to handle this situation with class.

Sister Bachelorette

Guess we won't be seeing any overnight "Fantasy Suite" dates on THIS one will we???

Oooo! Ooooo!

Of course this is happening on a day I cannot possibly get away from prior engagements... BUT I thought I'd throw it out there for all you ladies who might want to go! (PICK ME UP SOMETHING WHILE YOU'RE THERE!!!) :-)

One of my latest favs:

Sun-Shiney Day

1.Road to the Middle of Nowhere (But your NOWHERE is my HOME!) : PIONEER CROSSING opens TOMORROW!

2. Gracias, Southwest: Bought my plane ticket to Orlando for only $250. Can't wait for the end of October: Ohana, 20+, French bakery, The Bat Cave, humidity, brown
hair, Menchies, and getting paid great money for doing what I love - can't get a whole lot better. And since I got such a cheap flight, I'll be able to use most of the money I make on ... paying off the cars. :-) I am awesome. We're on the home stretch with the truck!!! HALLELUJAH!

3. Bliss: Wedding #2 out of 3 for the summer happened this weekend. Congrats to my sweet step-sister Kaitlyn and her awesome new hubby. I love temple sealings. I get giddy- and Chuck tells me I always like him more after we attend a sealing. :-) I love weddings.


4. Time: Every so often I get contemplative and nostalgic and just plain grateful for the things I've been able to do with my little life. Today in Relief Society I had time to think about how quickly time passes. How in the WORLD did I get where I am now? It's still strange for me to think about all the goals I had at eighteen- and minus one thing on that list (being an EFY counselor)- I have accomplished it all. And, to give myself credit, I WAS hired as a counselor the summer of '03, but accepted another job before EFY offered. :-) It makes me happy. And makes me think that this coming year- the big 3-0 needs to bring a whole new list of goals.

I am so grateful for my growing up time at Ricks College, my social time at Weber State's Institute, my performing time at BYU majoring in MDT and being a part of the Young Ambassadors, moving to the other side of the world, and finally ending up in Florida where I met the cute boy I am married to now. (Which, I might add, several people vocally expressed that I would "never find anyone to marry out there!) Ha! I showed YOU! :-)

I just can't believe how quickly all that time passed by. It's eleven years after high school and sometimes I still feel like that giddy little girl waiting for life to begin. Now I'm here. In the middle of it all. Hmmm. How did that happen?

5. Schedule: Tomorrow begins the BACK TO SCHOOL/FALL schedule of life that will run for the next eight months. Phew. Here we go...

6. Kiddy Singing: This week I recorded some songs for the little preschool I work for. Hilarious. But fun.

7. Bachelor: Bachelor Pad - It's awful and Chuck and I are eating it up! Oh! And I am excited for this fall season of reality TV!!!

8. Sundee: Thank heaven for The Day of Rest. I used it fully today.

Sometimes...

Sometimes I just surf YouTube for inspiring performances... ya know- cuz I'm a nerd like that.




And sometimes I find things like this:

South Pacific at the Lincoln Center - PBS

Nothing like old fashioned glorious musical theatre to make this girl's heart sing with happiness. Haven't had a chance to watch the whole thing yet- but what I DID see of it last night as I cleaned my lil' house was beautiful.

Oh, and I miss the stage.

Late. Not THAT Kind.

Happies:


1. Late Nights with the Texans: Stayed up till two a.m. last night playing with these folks. Oh, how I miss them.

2. Houses Bigger Than Anyone Needs: Chuckster and I drove all around Utahn creation this week seeing the Parade of Homes. And I thought I had a bug to decorate my house before... What fun we had.

Our Fav- The Monarch


3. Frozen Goodness: During our Parade of Homes festivities we got ourselves some yummy frozen yogurt- WHICH reminded me how excited I am for MENCHIES to be in Utah!!!

4. Plans: Heading to Orlando in October. I think I'll be ready for the work/play I'll be able to do. I'll be ready for it.

5. Green: Paid $914 towards the truck today. I just keep pluggin' along.

6. Mawwige: Wedding this week. We all know, I do, I really do, love weddings.

7. Manifesto: Spent a little time this week writing in my handy dandy little online journal, "What I Want My Daughters to Know About Marriage." I spared all of you from this rant (not a negative one, mind you), but if I do say so myself, it was quite brilliant. And it made me happy.

8. M. Gilbert: The cat is nuts. But he still makes me laugh and I love him lots. Apparently he wishes he were meat. He has an obsession with jumping into the fridge. UGH.

9. Wrapping Up: Summer is coming to an end. I'm excited to get back into the regular routine of the preschool/dance studio, life at the Scera on Thursdays... it'll be good for me. And for the pocketbook.

10. Sing Sing Sing: Got a saaaaaaweet gig with the Hale in Orem in a couple weeks. I'm totally excited about it.

Yep. And since I went to bed at 2 a.m. last night, 10:30 is where I end things tonight. Night!

Sunny

I work a lot now. I am tired. But I have found that, oddly enough, I am more productive and more efficient with my time when I am REALLY busy. Hmmm. Discoveries...

Things that kept me happy this past week-

1. Weeping Women: Today I went to Relief Society again. For the first time in a long, long time. (I went once for Mothers Day but before that we're talking like a few weeks after we moved in. So more than a year ago...) ANYWAY- I went today. And I needed it. Our ward is at capacity again (we're talking about 360 in our Primary, folks) and the Primary Pres. has decided to let someone else doing Singing Time for Senior Primary. Which means I get to go hang out with the ladies. I'm REALLY happy about it.

2. And We'll Have FUN FUN FUN: THESE PEOPLE are coming rill soon. Pretty much can't wait.

3. Totally Reality: I mentioned it before, but I thoroughly enjoyed the season finale of The Bachelorette. I did. I'm not a giddy girly person either- and that had me squealing.

4. Lite: I haven't eaten out for a week. One whole week. This is progress people. Someday I may even go back to running five miles a day like I used to... Before the cruise, before the crazies of 2010... Yeah.

5. Flap Ball Change: Cute Hubby bought me a chunk of wood to tappity tap on with my new DVDs. It's going to take everything inside of me to seriously buckle down and beef up those skills, but I need something to focus on, ya know?

6. Plans: Have my next trip to Orlando planned. It's the last year of the 20+ show I've participated in since 2007, so this is it. Off I'll go to do that show one last time at the beginning of November. After that it'll be Beauty and the Beast about once every six months.

And someday soon we'll go on another cruise.

Yes people. Someday we will actually plan a trip that has nothing to do with Disney- but while we've got the perks, we just gotta take advantage of them, right?

7. Closer: Every time I write a check that goes towards paying our cars off I get happy. I'd be happiER if those dollars were buying us clothes or furniture or something of that sort, but for now I will continue to use every penny I make and every extra penny we have to pay off those awesome cars that we've already owned for three years. Patience...

Now I need to clean my house and get it ready for the week ahead. Yay me.

PS: I want to spice up the blog. I feel like LIFE itself - when I'm not living in another country or pretending to be someone else with a good portion of my life - can be quite dull to write about. But I am happy to report that I am quite content with real "life." It's taken a long time to "settle down" if you will, but I'm in a good place. It feels nice.

So whaddya think? Shall I now write about the stats of my KITTY?!?!? (Ya know, cuz I said I was gonna spice up the blog...)

Oh my gosh you guys! M. Gilbert had his eight week checkup this week and here are his stats:

Height: 90th Percentile!
Weight: 95th Percentile!
Head: 5th Percentile!

Looks like we have a weird one on our hands! The pediatrician thinks it'll all turn out just fine.

Likes:
Mommy
Fuzzy blanket that he thinks is his real cat mommy
Daddy's feet, toes, legs- anything biteable and/or scratchable
His laser toy
Playing in his litter box
Climbing me like a tree
Climbing anything like a tree
The pantry
Socks
The bed skirt

Dislikes:
OUTSIDE
Loud noises
Daddy wrapping him up in a blanket to see how long it takes him to get out
Being thrown out of the pantry
Chewing carpet strands
Holding still
Being obedient

Milestones:
- Pooped in the litter box all by himself today!
- Counts to six.
- Knows how to play the harmonica.
- Eats solids.
- Claps his paws and says "hello!"

Yes. I am mocking. And it's all out of pure love for all of you. ;-)

Reminders

Googly Eyes

So I'm a sucker, OK? Gotta tell y'all how much this girl LOVED the BACHELORETTE finale on Monday night. Also gotta tell you that her hubby loved it too! :-)

Now that I am finished speaking in the third person, I'll tell you what else I have loved lately:

- Working: It's kept me busy but I am enjoying it. I'm glad that I have things to keep me busy and that I have the discipline to put every penny I make into loan payments... GET. IT. OVER. WITH.

- Friends: Had a fun night with the "high school and before" ladies on Friday night.

For Aubrey:

Yes. This bow is for serious at Forever 21. Yes. I have seen it worn by teenage girls. Yes. I think it's ridiculous.

- Outside: Chuck and I had a fabulous little jaunt up to Stewart Falls near Sundance last night. On the way home we took a gander at Squaw Peak. Refreshing.

Pics to come...

- Kitty: He is obnoxious and wants to play/and/or/be with me or his Papa Chuckie ALL the time. My foot has become a chew toy and our downstairs spare bathroom has become the baby's bedroom. He's just so darn cute.

Guess What? It's My Birfday! - Sunshine

The New Addition: M. Gilbert Keeler

Chuck won't let me call him "our son." But I do anyway.

Happies via pictures. Explanations later :-)

Celebrations began Thursday night...

He showed up on the doorstep on Saturday morning...

Saturday dinner at Tucanos

Kensie wishing it were HER birthday...

Cute us.

Really pretty.

Happ, Happ, Happies.

1. Stillness: I love being still. I love listening and thinking in the quiet of where ever I can find it. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I gladly welcome it. Even if it is 2 AM.

2. Wedding-ness: Had such a fun day yesterday going to a bridal shower for and to the temple with my step-sister, Kaitlyn. It was a wonderful day with lots of food and fun and time with family. I even had some time to get to know my other step-sister, Wendy , better. Lovely times.

3. Dreams: Sometimes Chuck and I like to play the "what if" game. OK, every other Sunday on the way to his Grandma's for Sunday dinner we play that game. He is GREAT at it. He has all these ideas of what he would do and what he would have and where we would go if money were no object. I am still working on my dreaming abilities. I'm too practical... that's all there is to it.

I'd keep my Mazda. Maybe when she dies I'd get myself a Lexus that I think is cute...

I'd buy some clothes and shoes. Lots of them.

I'd probably want to pay off debts and buy things for family members.

And I'd want to travel.

And buy lots of Z-Gallerie furniture.

Last night, I did let myself dream a bit more, and it was fun. Chuck and I always talk about houses- and I feel like this one is a good combination of both of our tastes. I found it across from the Draper temple while watching fireworks with Biff last night.




I love it. I took Chuck to see it tonight.

And then we ran into THIS monstrosity:


No words. Well, maybe one word. Horrifying.

4. Birfday: The celebration of the last year of my twenties has begun. 29. How did this happen? Had yummy cake and fun times with the Robinsons tonight. More birfday-ness to come this week.

5. Make Me a Fatty:

Cake balls. I have no control. They are divinity.

6. Debt: Staying optimistic here. It gives me the opportunity to work. And once those cars are paid off, I won't need to anymore. Ha ha.

I need to get to bed. And I need to get off my computer. Time to pay attention to the person who is right here in front of me and not the invisible, but somehow fulfilling, world of bloggers and Facebookers. Chuck is cool.